The "Neurobiology" program at FMI

The brain's magic is worked by neural circuits by which information is transmitted from one nerve cell to the next. How we think, perceive, react and enjoy life, all depend on networks of cell-to-cell contacts and complex combinatorial signaling. Disentangling the neuronal circuitry of even one sensory pathway remains a major challenge.

At the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, scientists use a range of model organisms and sophisticated imaging tools to study the formation and function of neuronal circuits. They seek to understand how neuronal connections are formed during development and maintained or remodeled in adulthood.

This research furthers understanding of how the nervous system functions both in healthy and diseased states and will eventually help to treat dementia, psychological disorders, and age-related degeneration of the nervous system.